702 ] ournal of Agriculture . [ro Nov., 1910. 



plants, thus tending to perpetuate and improve the best features of the 

 type. Although meeting with general fa\our with the public, being mild 

 and uniform in quality, it sometimes exhibits a lightness or puffiness that 

 is objected to by consumers. Some growers mix the more solid varieties 

 •with them to give weight. It is manifest, therefore, that there is yet 

 abundant scope for the hybridist in the impro\ement of our tomatoes. 



Pests. 

 Of the many diseases that attack tomatoes, only a few have proved 

 themselves seriously troublesome in the Xorth. The Victorian Locust 

 {Pachytalus australis) does great damage in places some seasons when 

 they come in large swarms. Burning smudges on which an occasional 

 handful of sulphur is sprinkled is found a good remedy in such cases. 

 The Tomato Moth {Heliothis armigera) is also doing great damage, parti- 

 cularly with the early tomatoes; while the di.sease known as "Sheath 

 •Calyx " has assumed threatening proportions. As yet it has not seriously 

 affected yields, appearing more towards the latter end of the season. It 

 manifests itself in the blooms towards the terminal points and also in 

 immature wood. Th? t-r-rm'nal points of the shoots, the peduncle and 

 pedicel of the late blooms become swollen ; the calyx becomes enlarged 

 and the flowers fail to develop. If this disease becomes so virulent as to 

 attack the plants in the early stages of growth it will be a serious menace 

 to the industry. I have found it has a wide distribution, being especially 

 prevalent in the old tomato plantations. I have also found, in plants 

 severely attacked, that there w-as a complete absence of fruit. The Crab 

 Grass {Panicum sanguinale) is also found a trouble.some pest; irrigation 

 and lack of cultivation favour its development. 



FUTURE PROSPECTS. 



Despite the difficulties that confront the grower in the shape of pests, 

 the tomato is destined yet to play an im[)ortant part in the industrial de- 

 velopment of the irrigable areas. It is to some quickly-maturing crop 

 that will yield ready return that we must look to solve the difficulties that 

 confront the tree planter in these areas. The finances of the average 

 .settler will not bear the long wait of four to fne years till the trees begui 

 to return some of the initial outlay. 



Owing to the advertised success of the Bendigo growers, the stress 

 laid on their sun heat, methods of irrigation, culture, etc., it is thought 

 in many quarters that tomatoes could not be successfully grown in the 

 North unless their methods of culture were adopted. The tomato is not 

 a fickle plant ; although half-hardy in our climate and unable to withstand 

 severe cold, at the same time it has a robust constitution and a wonderful 

 faculty of adaptation. Yield.s are, however, in other places, as great 

 under entirely different methods of culture. 



Many hesitate to launch their all in an industry that they only hav-:; 

 a vague knowledge of and from which, in the ordinary course of events, 

 they can only obtain results after a lapse of time that is almost sufficient 

 to change the whole trend of events. Quite a number of crops may be 

 grown without injury to the trees, and these will assist the orchardist 

 in tiding over the first few years of fruitlessness. In this respect, the 

 tomato probablv off'ers the greatest inducement in our irrigated areas. It 

 is an adaptable and vigorous plant and an early and profitable cropper. 

 It may be contended by some that much further planting would cause a 



